Terrified passengers leap off ferry packed with tourist backpackers after fire breaks out

 The sunny Koh Tao earned the notorious title of ‘Death Island’ around a decade ago after two Brits were brutally murdered while backpacking.

The semi-naked bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23,  were discovered between 5am and 6am on Sairee Beach in Koh Tao on September 15, 2014.

A British male, thought to have known the two, was named as a person of interest and hunted by police after allegedly fleeing the island on an early ferry for Bangkok.

Later, police released CCTV footage which they claimed showed the students walking hand-in-hand down a street.

It was later revealed the couple in the images were not Miss Witheridge and Mr Miller.

Images of a migrant worker spotted later on the same CCTV tape are circulated, with police describing the man as a person of interest.

The following day DNA samples taken from the scene did not match those of any of a reported 12 suspects.

Officers claimed they had ‘strong evidence’ to link six Burmese workers to the gruesome murders, though no forensic links could be made.

Samples were taken from nine migrant workers and three foreigners including two brothers from Jersey who were friends of David Miller.

Christopher and James Ware were stopped at Suvarnabhumi International airport on their way back to Britain for questioning.

The brothers were never arrested.

Thai police admitted they had ‘no idea’ who killed David Miller and Hannah Witheridge after failing to link any of 12 suspects to the crime.

They said it was ‘difficult to say’ whether the pair’s killer or killers was still on the island, and then claimed investigations had pointed them to a group seen on the beach playing the guitar and singing ‘western songs’.

The Thai Prime Minister said girls wearing bikinis on the holiday island of Koh Tao were not safe unless they were ugly.

‘Can they be safe in bikinis … unless they are not beautiful?’ said General Prayuth Chan-O-Cha in a televised speech.

He later apologised for his remarks.

Police later said Miss Witheridge may not have been raped as first suggested following an autopsy on her body.

Police claimed DNA from two men alongside that of Miss Witheridge has been discovered on a cigarette butt 50 yards from where the 23-year-old’s body was found.

They said traces of at least one man’s DNA has been found on Miss Witheridge’s body. 

Later it transpired there was evidence of one man’s DNA on the cigarette, and of two men in the victim’s body.

It was suggested David Miller was killed with a blunt piece of metal and not the rusty garden hoe first discovered at the scene and named as a murder weapon.

Evidence suggested the brave 24-year-old put up a fight before his death and that he was drowned.

The following month, two Burmese men, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21, were charged with three offences – conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and robbery – in connection with the deaths of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge.

In December 2014, the suspects were each indicted on five charges: premeditated murder, killing to conceal a criminal offence, rape, illegal entry into Thailand, and staying in the country without permission.  

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both now 29, were originally sentenced to death for the murder of David Miller and the murder and rape of Hannah Witheridge but a Thai royal decree changed their sentences to life in prison.

On April 2, 2024, both men demanded a review of the case as they plead their innocence. 

They claim they were forced into making a confession and accused detectives of carrying out a ‘botched’ investigation, The Mirror reported.